Remarks Upon Appointment to the US Senate

Remarks Upon Appointment to the US Senate

Thank you, Governor Barbour, for having the confidence and trust to ask me to assume this tremendous responsibility.

I share this special moment with my wife Gayle, who has traveled with me here today. She has been my steady partner now through 32 years of marriage, including four years in the Air Force and 20 years of elective service. Along the way, she has been a small businesswoman, an educator, and most importantly mother to our three wonderful children, Margaret, Caroline, and McDaniel. Earlier today we were able to be joined by the children as well as my father and hero retired Judge Fred Wicker. He and Mother worked hard and instilled in me those core values that shaped me into the person I am today.

From all accounts, Governor Barbour has gone through a careful and deliberate process in arriving at this moment, during which he considered the names of a large number of outstanding and talented Mississippians. I am all the more humbled by this knowledge. Several of these individuals have already contacted me to express their congratulations and best wishes, and for that I am most grateful.

I also appreciate the words of encouragement I have received from so many of my fellow citizens since Senator Lott made his announcement in late November.

During this process, I can imagine that Governor Barbour reflected on the proud list of Mississippi Senators who have gone before me and walked the halls where I will now work for our state and nation -- names like John Stennis, Jim Eastland, Pat Harrison, and L.Q.C. Lamar. Clearly, I have a great deal to live up to.

It is a distinct honor - and an awesome responsibility -- to be named to serve in place of Trent Lott, truly one of the giants of Mississippi political history, on whose staff I served in the House of Representatives.

And what an opportunity now to serve alongside our Senior Senator, Thad Cochran, who has been my friend for some thirty-five years. No Junior Senator could ask for a more capable and principled colleague. I hope he will soon resume his former position as Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

During thirteen years in the U. S. House of Representatives and before that seven in the Mississippi Legislature, I feel that I have established a clear record of service and accomplishment. I hope to build on that record now in the United States Senate.

I am a mainstream conservative in the mold of Trent Lott, Thad Cochran, Chip Pickering, and Haley Barbour. I believe the vast majority of Mississippians share this philosophy.

At the same time, I hope my constituents and colleagues view me as a pragmatic problem solver.

I am a proud Republican who believes in the spirit of bipartisanship we remember from the late Sonny Montgomery. Some of my proudest achievements have come by reaching across the aisle - working with the late Senator Paul Wellstone of Minnesota to fight muscular dystrophy, with my Subcommittee Chairman Chet Edwards of Texas to provide increased funding and better services for our Veterans, with my in-state colleague Gene Taylor on Hurricane Katrina relief, and with mayors and supervisors both Republican and Democrat on the PUL Alliance which led to the Toyota facility being located in Mississippi. I am currently working with Representative Bennie Thompson to provide increased tourism opportunities for the Mississippi Delta and Hills.

Even here on the coast - on the opposite end of the state - I have a track record dating back to my very first term in office of supporting the priorities and needs of the needs of South Mississippi.

I have secured funding for the Jackson County water project, military construction projects at Keesler Air Force Base, the Gulfport/Biloxi airport, as well as defense projects important to Ingalls and other industries.

Some of you may remember that a few years ago I was given the chance to serve on the Defense Appropriations subcommittee. Within weeks of that change, I decided it was important to visit the defense installations and industry in Mississippi. And I came right here first.

No one needs to tell me how important this region is to our state and to the defense of our country. I will continue to make that a priority in my service to you in the United States Senate.

I have been here many times as a member of the house. As your Senator, I will be here much more frequently. I am fortunate to have a number of good and close friends here. And I look forward to getting to know many more in the future.

One of my first priorities in the coming weeks will be to listen to the people all across our great state. As I have said, I think I know their philosophy and their hearts, but there is certainly more that I can learn.

My legislative priorities will include:

National Security. Mississippi is fortunate to be able to play such an important role in defending America, whether through our military installations, shipbuilding, or other defense-related manufacturing.

Economic Development and job creation. Key components here include education, job training and re-training, transportation, and using the research capacity of our universities and colleges. I intend to build on the successes we have had in attracting new industry and to help spread the benefits of that success to every corner of the state.

An integral part of our economic efforts will include paying close attention to the needs of agriculture, manufacturing and small businesses.

Health care is one area in which I have been aggressively involved for my entire Congressional career and earlier in the Mississippi Senate. We must work for solutions to lower the cost of health care. And I will continue to promote research funding to address those diseases such as stroke, diabetes, and cardio-vascular disease that plague a disproportionate number of our citizens.

Mississippi is surely moving forward today, and I want to work in partnership with all our state and local leadership to keep this momentum going.

Above the Speaker's podium in the House chamber where I have served for 13 years is a quotation from one of our Republic's early statesmen, Daniel Webster. It was part of a speech Senator Webster made on the fiftieth anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill, upon the laying of the cornerstone of the monument to that great battle:

"Let us develop the resources of our land, call forth its powers, build up its institutions, promote all its great interests, and see whether we also, in our day and generation, may not perform something worthy to be remembered."

I believe this is still the calling of public service in the United States today. I look forward to working in this spirit for my state and country.

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